North Korea's Growing Satellite Fleet

North Korea’s Kwangmyongsong[1] satellites have progressed from a simple Chinese design launched in 1998, to a larger, more advanced version in 2009 and the latest model, the Kwangmyongsong-3 that it attempted to launch in April 2012. Since none of these satellites achieved orbit how they would perform remains just speculation. This article will assess the images and data that are available on all three of these satellites, including the Kwangmyongsong-3, which was shown to international media on April 8, 2012.